Comparables

It’s kind of a jargony term. What asset or property or tract of land is a fair comparable or basis upon which to price this new thing that you’re selling/buying?

When buying or selling real estate, for example, the Realtor, or realtor (caps or no caps, depending upon whether or not they were formally trained), will assemble a list of comparable properties. Similar size, water rights, view of the city, distance from nuclear waste dump, and other conditions…and which sold within a recent time frame to help the buyer or seller establish a fair price.

This process is particularly germane in real estate, but applies to the sale of small businesses as well.